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The new law won't effect me too much, but I do have a Woodman's Pal, and an Ontario Sp-8 that I carry in my truck, pretty regularly. My SP-8 is part of my GHB.

I'm just glad they are doing away with some of these ridiculous laws. They have never prevented anyone from being injured or killed by a knife, and were for the most part only selectively enforced, and arbitrarily prosecuted. I have no intentions of walking around with a saber, or katana, mainly because I carry enough around all the time. But any law that restricts a person's ability to bear arms, needs to be removed. JMHO

I guess we can now do a machete Wally Walk!!! (after Sept 1)

ScottDLS wrote:

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

tx85 wrote:Through case law "dagger" has been defined as any knife having a double edged blade, which means that this 3.4" Microtech is currently an "illegal knife" in TX:



The Supreme Court has held that "the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding". So this bill's passage will be a nice — if mostly symbolic — 2A victory that eliminates the absurdity that you can legally carry a gun but not certain knives.

Couldn't this also apply to a utility knife that extends a razor blade out of the end? After all, at least some of these use razor blades that are sharp on both sides.

In a former life, I installed carpeting and we used just such a knife that we nicknamed a "bloody Mary" knife, for obvious reasons. If all double edged knives are illegal then every carpet installer in Texas is subject to potential arrest.

The whole thing about illegal knives is the prohibition on "carrying them on or about your person" outside of property or premises under your control. That an the intent of the use can bear on the definition of an illegal knife. So in the case of a carpet knife you could argue it's not a dagger, or that even if it is, the property where you are installing carpet is "under your control (for the purpose of installing carpet)".

Also, carrying a baseball bat. It meets the definition of a club, but not if it's being used at baseball practice (sporting exception). A crowbar or screwdriver could also be considered "burglary tools", but only subject to a provable intent to use or use in committing burglary.

You can be arrested for having an "illegal" knife in your vehicle, which is under your control. The prohibition comes from not being engaged in an activity, where that particular knife would be normally used. A chef could be arrested, for carrying a butcher knife (over 5.5 inches), in his vehicle, while on vacation, where he would not be performing his duties as a chef, and not travelling to and from his home and work. The same thing for carrying a machete, if you are not travelling to and from a place where it would normally be used. The prohibitions came about the same way gun control prohibitions came about, and that was to try to control people's behaviors, or misuse of something, by creating prohibitions against simple possession, with no reasonable suspicion, that they had, or would be, used in the commission of a crime. Not to mention, the enforcement of these laws, is completely arbitrary, and left up to individual LEO, and prosecutors. A 2" knife is just as capable of killing someone, as a 24" machete, and much easier to conceal, and manipulate in close quarters. None of the prohibited knives are more deadly than the non-prohibited ones. Some of the prohibitions even came about because of movies (switchblades) as if every gang member was suddenly going to start dancing with knives like they did in "West Side Story"

I worked one homicide involving a knife, two young men, got into a fight, one had a 3" knife, and stabbed the other in the upper thigh. He and his buddies didn't think it was a serious wound, and there was very little external bleeding, so they drove away. It wasn't until he lost consciousness, that they took him to the hospital. The knife cut his femoral artery, and he bled to death, about 30 minutes later.
The one who did the stabbing was charged with manslaughter, but not UCW, since the knife was "legal"

Soccerdad1995 wrote:

tx85 wrote:Through case law "dagger" has been defined as any knife having a double edged blade, which means that this 3.4" Microtech is currently an "illegal knife" in TX:



The Supreme Court has held that "the Second Amendment extends, prima facie, to all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding". So this bill's passage will be a nice — if mostly symbolic — 2A victory that eliminates the absurdity that you can legally carry a gun but not certain knives.

Couldn't this also apply to a utility knife that extends a razor blade out of the end? After all, at least some of these use razor blades that are sharp on both sides.

In a former life, I installed carpeting and we used just such a knife that we nicknamed a "bloody Mary" knife, for obvious reasons. If all double edged knives are illegal then every carpet installer in Texas is subject to potential arrest.

That's correct, as a LEO, I never hassled anyone about a knife due to it's length, number of sharpened edges, whether it could be opened with one hand (which I always wondered why the ADA didn't protest the law, because it discriminates against a disabled person) or whether I thought it was a "Bowie" knife, unless they were using the knife to try to threaten, or harm someone. I would arrest them for that, even if it was a three inch pocket knife with no other "illegal" features. However, I did witness other officers, use the knife laws to arrest people, who would not have been arrested, for any other reason. The fact that most categories of knives had exceptions to their possession, made the entire set of laws, ridiculous on it's face. As previously stated, if using a large knife/machete, for a legitimate purpose was allowed, why would the simple possession of that same knife/machete, be illegal when not engaged in that activity?
Just so everyone is aware, until the law goes into effect, if asked, I am on my way to clear brush, or going camping. (and yes, sometimes, I wear a coat and tie to do those things)

Abraham wrote:No question, I'm not up to date regarding the hullaballoo some on this forum seem to have regarding knives.

What's the deal?

Want to carry a big ole honking knife, but can only do so at home or in your yard?

Frankly, I don't have a problem with people carrying knives big enough to require wheels, but I don't know why such interest in knives and the law?

Please, someone clue me in as at this point, the biggest amount of energy I can muster about carrying knives is a: YAWN!

I don't think there are a huge number of people who are interested in strapping on swords, to visit the local 7-11. But I can tell you as a former LEO, the law has been misused to arrest otherwise law abiding citizens. Especially when "gravity" knives, or "knives capable of being opened with one hand" were still illegal.
These laws are simply another attempt by law makers to try to "control" behavior, by trying to control inanimate objects. Some of these laws date back to just after the Civil War, and with any laws, of these types, have had exactly zero effect on reducing crime.
Removing these laws has not garnered a lot of attention, because as you said, most people have no interest in carrying large knives, daggers, or many of the other things prohibited. But right now, an over zealous LEO, and prosecutor, could potentially ruin someone's life if they have a machete in their vehicle, and can't convince them it was for a legitimate purpose.

NotRPB wrote:

tx85 wrote:Article: House delays debate on knife bill days after UT stabbing

Charley Wilkison, executive director of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, said such a law would be frightening to regular citizens who could spot a person carrying a large knife in public.

"There's no compelling reason to change (the law)," he said. "Changing the law and adding a lengthier knife that can be carried outside is certainly not something that law enforcement needs."

They were oblivious to the fact, and simple lesson taught by this incident: that "Criminals don't obey laws"
The knife used at University of Texas was too large, therefore illegal to be carried
That should have indicated that If Criminals WILL disobey laws, why not allow citizens who obey laws to have a thing called "Equal Protection" ... and that principle/ concept should be applied to all firearms
So we'll see more machete attacks & Axe attacks (those are more common in Australia/UK) even though they're illegal in "Big Knife Free Zones"

These people must just tremble in fear if they go into a restaurant where they can see into the kitchen. with all of those terrible, dangerous big knives. The same thing at butcher shops. I guess when they see landscapers clearing brush, with a machete, they have to be institutionalized.
This is the same ridiculous argument they used regarding OC. Do they really think that people are suddenly going to walk around with 4' swords if they become legal? If the UT stabbing had been done with a 5" knife, would the victims be any less dead or injured?

Texas knife laws are archaic, at best, and have more holes in them than anything else on the books, and have done absolutely nothing to prevent the misuse of knives. Stabbing someone with any knife is still illegal, and if someone is going to disobey that law, why would they decide to obey, a law, on the length of a murder weapon?

LSUTiger wrote:

CleverNickname wrote:

LSUTiger wrote:Awesome! I can't wait for the day for full auto knives, long bladed knives(5.5"+), double sided knives and AOK's (any other knives) to be legal! Will they require a tax stamp?

If by "full-auto knives" you mean switchblades, those have been legal to carry for 3 1/2 years now.

I always wondered about that because I been seeing people around with them, some people said they were legal, some said not. I guess the confusion was over single sided vs double edged blades.

The "illegal" knife statutes, have been historically used to arrest people when there was no other legitimate charge. It could be anything from someone having a "switchblade" knife which was only prohibited, after the movie West Side Story came out, to having a steak knife, in your vehicle because it was over 5.5" in length. A person would have to prove that they had a legitimate reason to have whichever "illegal" knife was found in their possession. If you could prove you were going camping, for example, you could have machetes, large hunting knives, tomahawks etc. Very few charges of carrying an illegal knife were ever added to any charges stemming from the illegal use of said knives, like aggravated assault, or murder. Again, it is not the inanimate object, but it's use or misuse that is the issue. A person using a single edged, folding pocket knife, with a 3" blade can kill someone. I hope all of these ridiculous laws are stricken from the books.

This is the best news I have heard from the Lege this session.
I have long maintained that the whole "illegal" knife restrictions were at best arbitrary, and at worst the most ridiculously, written laws on the books. I hope this will also eliminate the stupid policies in schools where kids have been suspended for just bringing a paring knife, or butter knife to school in their lunch boxes.

Looking forward to strapping on my swords and proudly walking the streets of Texas!!